Check Out Sydney Wells’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Wells.

Hi Sydney, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
For as long as I can remember I have been competing – as a kid in various sports and eventually collegiate track. I ran track at the University of Missouri for 4 years, running the 400 and the 4×4. After I graduated college, I thought the competition days were over. I began working in sales after graduating and did that for 4 years before realizing I was missing something mentally and physically challenging from my life. In 2021, I was taking Crossfit classes 5 times a week and decided to test my fitness through Crossfit Quarterfinals. I completed the Quarterfinals and ended up qualifying for my first Semifinals completely unexpectedly. After training for a few months and competing at Semifinals, I knew this is exactly where I was meant to be. From that day forward, began my Crossfit career. The next year, in 2022 I competed again at Semifinals. That December I decided I wanted to go all in and become a full time athlete. I quit my job and all my focus was on my biggest goal: The Crossfit Games. A few months later, in 2023, I qualified for the Crossfit Games. I have been competing in various Crossfit competitions ever since and I love inspiring others that they too can achieve their dreams just like I did through hard work and dedication.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have definitely been obstacles throughout my career. However, the first couple years were pretty smooth. I was fortunate enough to train with the best training camp in the world from the very beginning and this helped in getting me to be an elite athlete sooner than I had imagined. Most would say its uncommon to compete at the Crossfit Games after only 2 years of focused training. It was not easy and it was a lot of hard work and sacrifice, but, I had an amazing team by my side the whole time including my twin sister who has been competing in Crossfit since 2015. However, in 2024 I faced a tremendous challenge. The stages to qualify for the Crossfit Games go like this: Open -> Quarterfinals -> Semifinals -> Games. The Open and Quarterfinals are done online, and you submit videos which are reviewed. I completed Quarterfinals and was in a qualifying spot, until I was notified I received a major penalty on a movement – box step ups. The crazy thing is that around 20% of the qualified women (before video review) in my region also received the same penalty. Only 40 athletes in my region were to qualify to the next stage to move on to Semifinals. I was in a qualifying position, until my score was adjusted to reflect the major penalty. I went from 11th in the workout, to 796th, which put me well outside of the top 40- I was deep into the 100s. So in 2024, that was the end of my season – I didnt even get to compete in Semifinals which meant I didnt get a shot at earning a trip back to the Crossfit Games. I learned a lot about how to handle adversity and setbacks through this process and even branched out and tried competing in new things like Hyrox.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work includes competing in CrossFit as a full time professional athlete. I also work with amazing sponsors who help me do this every day. I post for them on my social media and do some content creating for my Instagram account.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I would say risk taking is a huge part of competing in Crossfit honestly. I believe you have to be able to take risks in order to push yourself to be your best. If you don’t try, you’ll never know what you’re capable of. In workouts you have to take risks all the time – your body is extremely fatigued but you ask yourself can I get one more rep? Sometimes, especially if it is a high skilled movement, you can’t but you try anyway. If you fail, you learn more about yourself and your capabilities. It is just a part of the process! Outside of this, I would say I have taken risks to get where I am today. I quit my job to pursue my athletic goals which was a huge risk for me. I believe taking risks are an important part of the journey to reach your goals.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: sydneywells